Jerry, I learned on a Navy key and when I got my license, Iambic was a new thing but those who used it, swore by it. There were a few interfaces that used what I think was a Curtis 8044 IC and it was a fantastic chip to learn Iambic with. I had a "Ham Keyer" which used it and later made my own using this chip. It had two settings for Iambic and one seemed more natural than the other so I stuck with it.
I then bought a (at the time) new Corsair II from TenTec which had a keyer built in for Iambic but I never liked the way it felt or operated so I stuck with that Curtis chip. When I bought the K3 kit & checked out the built-in Iambic option and it was exactly what I had come to love all along so the Curtis is now on the shelf beside the Corsair for when I'll fire that up again in the future. FWIW, the K3s has that same functionality and I'm guessing the other Elecraft rigs have the same as well. Iambic is efficient, it requires I think, less motions to accomplish the same character and it flows like water with such little effort. I also use a Begali Sculpture but I started with a Bencher Iambic paddle, moved to a Vibroplex Iambic and finally to the Begali. The original Bencher came apart easily and always when I was excited and I had to put it back together (easy to do but not an elegant thing). Maybe they've attended to this flaw by now? The Vibroplex worked very well but seemed to require occasional attention and could have been heavier to stay in place during my moments of exuberance. I ordered the Begali maybe 3 years ago and never have had to touch it. I'm sure the other Iambic paddles made by hand are just as good. I will likely keep this one for what time I have left. As the Iambic from the rig is spaced perfectly as regards timing, it is a perfect teacher as to how to send well. Set your speed, go into the test mode so you don't transmit and practice with headphones to your heart's content. You will find it intuitive and what you will need to focus on is not running your characters and words together as it is so easy to send, you forget the point of error is you and your not sending with the proper gaps between characters and words. The way to best do this on the K3/K3s is to go to test mode! Now push the TEXT DEC on the front panel for decoding CW, select the TX ONLY option and you can read what you're sending on the LCD and this will help you get your character spacing and word spacing down just right. Lastly, I'm sure that whatever key you get, you'll learn how to be comfortable with it. For me, & me being a musician, the timing is everything and again, for me... Iambic was the easiest way to do it right with the least effort. 73, Gary KA1J > Hello, > > > I'm a "no-code-ham" determined to become a "know-code-ham" and so have > signed up to a course by CWops. > > They require a paddle for sending practice since lessons will be done > at 20-wpm. > > > Having researched the topic of 'paddles' and from that effort, I think > that a single paddle might work best for me. > > Here are the negative items which helped form that opinion: > > 1. a comment that regular practice is needed to maintain competence > with a dual-paddle, > > 2. iambic-a or iambic-b just seem physically complicated. > > > In reading my KX3-manual and Fred-KE7X's book, it seems to me that the > KXPD3 is capable of only dual-paddle operating. Or have I missed > something? > > > I understand that my KX3 has a second port for an external key (I > presume a single-paddle). > > In the past, I recall seeing photos of hams working KX3-portable with > a straight-key but, at those times, I did not pay attention if any had > a paddle. > > > TIA for any reply. > > 73 Jerry KM3K > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to [email protected] > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
